Race Thread

[Wyndbrook]

My uninformed picks for the weekend:

Junior races: no idea

MU23: Winner - Aubin Sparfel. Podium: D. Haverdings, Y. Corsus. Tbh, I haven't watched a single U23 race this season

WU23: Winner - Celia Gery. Podium: V. Chladonova, R. Carrier. Probably some wishful thinking wrt the latter.

Men's elite: Winner - duh. Podium: T. del Grosso, N. Vandeputte. Another Alpecin sweep.

Women's elite: Winner - Puck Pieterse. Podium: L. Brand, C. Alvarado

Decent predictions, I'm usually wrong.
Junior women should be between reigning champ Lise Revol and Pellizoti.
Junior men likely to another Italian and French dust up, Pezzo and Bruyere.
Make the seniors from four, its much earlier then. I would not bank agaist Nys getting a medal again and Fouquenet being involved.
Head says Brand, heart Pieterse.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

The women's junior race kicks things off today. I am looking forward to the battle between Pellizotti, Azzetti, Bianchi, Bukovská (who messed up the lap counting last year), Revol, Pichon, Versluis, Jochems, Nieuwenhuis, Roche, Huber and who else might be up there on a good day. Since I haven't really watched them race before I don't really know much more than what the result sheets have told me over the past couple of seasons, but some of them are also promising MTBers and road riders. I also know that Elisa Bianchi has trained with Silvia Persico a few times.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Revol has got a great start, Huber not so much, but at least that crash didn't destroy her race completely.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Bukovská's bad start has made this an interesting second half of the race. Grohová is also looking good behind so this could become a great Czech day.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

So it did end up being like last year's race, but with the opposite outcome. No one celebrated a lap too early, but Grohová lost out on a small chance of catching Revol by looking behind and crashing as a result.

 

[Axel Hangleck]

A good race, and podium; and the reverse 1-2 of last year. Will be interesting to see were they go next; all 3 are also top Junior XC MTB riders......Probably won't stop CX/Road teams from showing interest.

 

[ChasingPotatoes]

What happened to Verstrynge? Anybody knows?

He / his team opts to go 100% for the road race prep, after the national championships, so no worlds.

edit: stupid me sees now that there were 3 others already saying the same!

 

[ChasingPotatoes]

Espoirs is a very good race atm.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Sparfel with a mistake, could be very costly.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

The French are 2 for 2 for great starts and silver medals. Let's see if Fouquenet will do the same it if she can actually hold on to the lead/come back from behind to win. I doubt it.

Great win for Dockx.

 

[RedheadDane]

Okay... when are they actually starting?



(I am getting really tired of TV2 and their fake schedules!)

 

[JR1012]

Its early but it seems the dutch will again make a sweep.

 

[JR1012]

Brand or Pieterse will win it. Alavarado seems to struggle a bit.

 

[RedheadDane]

Pieterse crashed...

 

[JR1012]

That was a heavy crash. 😟

 

[RedheadDane]

Brand...

 

[JR1012]

Casasola DNF.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

All the Dutch riders are crashing.

Edit: everyone, really.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

We've got a pretty international battle for bronze out of it. Pieterse should obviously not have been there, but that's life.

 

[RedheadDane]

Eeeh... Riberolle...

 

[JR1012]

Eeeh... Riberolle...

DSQ.

 

[RedheadDane]

DSQ.

Someone forgot to tell her helpers in the pit...

 

[RedheadDane]

The Dutch sweeps the podium again.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

I hope Riberolle was just emotional after the DSQ because that looked similar to someone having a concussion.

Brand's almost perfect season gets her another rainbow jersey. Not exactly a smooth race for anyone.

 

[RedheadDane]

I hope Riberolle was just emotional after the DSQ because that looked similar to someone having a concussion.

Based on the replay showing the situation before the ended up by that pole, it could look like she "just" shut down mentally after being told she had been DSQed.

And if it actually is a concussion - because of a crash that wasn't caught on tape - then I hope someone has rather bad taste in their mouth. She wasn't actually supposed to be in the race at that point...

(Even emotionally, it might have been kinder if she'd been told in the pit... so she could have been lead away quietly. Both to vent, but also to get a lecture about pushing people.)